🔔 MARKET MOVING NEWS! (14/04/25)
1️⃣ Layer 1 MANTRA's Token Falls 90% In Sudden Crash; Team Blames 'Reckless Liquidations' 🔽
The price of OM, the token of real-world asset focused layer 1 blockchain MANTRA, experienced a dramatic collapse on Sunday. The token price went from approximately $6.3 to below $0.50, shedding over 90% of its $6 billion market cap in a matter of hours. Attempting to explain the price move, Mantra co-founder John Patrick Mullin stated that the “timing and depth of the crash suggest that a very sudden closure of account positions was initiated without sufficient warning or notice." Mullin also denied allegations of the price crash being possibly due to the team dumping tokens on the market. He also stated that the team was still investigating the issue.
2️⃣ Metaplanet Becomes 9th Largest Public Bitcoin Holder With Latest BTC Buy 💸
Japanese investment firm Metaplanet reportedly purchased an additional 319 BTC (worth $26.3 million) at an average price of $83,147 per coin. Notably, this latest purchase brings the company's total BTC holdings to 4,525 BTC. This makes the firm the ninth-largest publicly listed corporate holder of BTC globally and the largest in Asia. It also brings the aggregate cost basis of its holdings to $408.1 million, with an average acquisition price of $90,194. The move is part of Metaplanet’s broader bitcoin treasury operations strategy aimed at using digital assets to enhance shareholder value.
3️⃣ Man Pleads Guilty to Submitting False Tax Returns Tied to $13M CryptoPunks Sales 🔒
Waylon Wilcox, a 45-year-old man from Pennsylvania, has reportedly pleaded guilty to filing false tax returns that concealed millions of dollars in income from sales of nearly 100 CryptoPunk NFTs. Specifically, Wilcox admitted to underreporting more than $13 million in income from 97 CryptoPunks transactions across 2021 and 2022. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, the unreported gains slashed his tax bill by more than $3.2 million. Wilcox could face up to six years in prison, though his guilty plea will likely reduce his time served.
4️⃣ Commerce Secretary Lutnick Walks Back Tariff Relief On Electronics 🔍
In an ABC News interview, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick clarified that the White House’s decision to exempt items like smartphones, computers, and other consumer electronics from steep tariffs earlier this month was only temporary. He claimed they would last until the administration established a sector tariff regime for semiconductor products in a "month or two." He added that the goal was to encourage chip and flat panel production in the U.S. and reduce dependence on Asian manufacturing.
Lutnick stated,
President Trump has called out pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and autos. He called them sector tariffs, and those are not available for negotiation. They are just going to be part of making sure we ensure core national security items are made in this country. We can't be relying on China for fundamental things we need. Our medicines and our semiconductors need to be built in America.
5️⃣ World Liberty Financial Buys $775,000 Worth of SEI as Altcoin Accumulation Continues 💰
World Liberty Financial, the crypto venture backed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s family, reportedly purchased $775,000 worth of SEI tokens on April 12. According to fresh data from Arkham Intelligence, the move was funded with USDC transferred from the project’s main wallet to a trading wallet that has been used in prior altcoin buys. The price of SEI jumped shortly after the move was reported.